Racing in May & Memorial Day 2015

My first race in May this year was my second venture into the new sport of Double Racing founded by Bob Anderson, the founder of Runner's World. I did my first in Pleasanton in December and enjoyed the whole experience. This time the race was in Pacific Grove so I decided to go over the day before and spend the night. It worked out great and despite the fact that the weather was cloudy and gloomy both days it was still an enjoyable weekend. I've certainly learned the past few years that you make the best of the hand you're dealt. Control the things that you can but work with the things that you can't.

I stayed at the host hotel and literally a hundred feet from my room to the start and finish line. That was especially nice when I wanted to change shirt and socks between races because of the humidity. 

I spent a lot of time just walking along the coast and looking for otters and seals. I did see seals but no otters and I was really lucky when I was talking with some fishermen on an overlook to see a whale and her calf not to far out. I wasn't able to get a picture because it was just up and down so quickly. After watching the seals actually sleeping on small jagged rocks I don't think I'll ever have much sympathy for people complaining about uncomfortable beds.

The race was fun and as you can see, run in a beautiful location. I managed to get 3rd in my age group in both sections so I was 3rd in the combined. 

Pacific Grove is an interesting old town with an interesting history. One of the unique things that I saw while walking around town several times were plaques with the original homeowner and date the home was built. All of the dates were late 1800s and early 1900s. Another unique feature was the eclectic styles of the homes.

My second May race was a return to the Oakdale Chocolate Festival, it's always a well run event and is part of our club's Grand Prix Series. Even though I will miss multiple GP races this year because of conflicts with travel or other races I still try to participate in as many as possible.

My final May race was the Modesto Memorial Classic. It is another race put on my the club and is one of my favorite races of the year just because of the meaning behind the race and the fact that so many veterans come out and participate as runners or walkers. 

This Memorial Day weekend I was thinking a lot about my Dad's Naval service and then thought about my uncles who served. My Dad had 3 brothers and all four of them served. Dad - Navy, Uncle Ronnie - Navy, Uncle Billy - Army (Served with Elvis Presley in Germany), Uncle Denny - Air Force. He also had three sisters and their husbands served as well. Uncle Johnny - Navy, Uncle Willie - Army and Uncle Wayne - Navy. My Mom had two brothers and they both served as well. Uncle Buddy - Marines and Uncle Jerry - Army. She also had two sisters and Uncle Johnny was in the Navy. Uncle Dave was in a time period between Korea and Vietnam and I don't know if he served or not. That's a family service record that I'm definitely proud of.

Memorial Day 2014

Family, Friends and Destination Races - Part 3

Sunday morning started early again when we got up at 4:30 to eat and then drive to San Francisco for the Race Across the Bay. Literally the minute we pulled onto the interstate traffic came to a complete stop. I had just told Joe about the CHP using something called rolling stops and this sure felt like what it must be. The surprising thing is we had given ourselves plenty of time so neither of us was stressed about the situation. The reality was, why be stressed when it is completely out of our control? Within a few minutes we started moving slowly and in less than a mile we were back at full speed and heading for the Bay Bridge.

The race started in Marin County but we had to park at the finish in San Francisco and take a shuttle to the start. Parking was "find it where you can". I found parking just one block from the finish and where we had to catch the shuttle, so again leaving early was a good thing. We caught the first shuttle and had plenty of time to enjoy the pre-race atmosphere at starting area. It was a beautiful morning and we were really looking forward to running across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The race itself was beautiful and it was really exciting to run across the bridge. People were stopping along the entire 12K route to take pictures and I managed to get a few myself.

Joe and I both enjoyed the race and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys destination races. We spent some time at the event after the race, got a cup of coffee and headed back to the Valley. It was two great back to back race events.

Needless to say after the runs, hikes and races we were beat but we got up the next morning and drove to the mountains. I wanted Joe to get a chance to see as much as possible while he was here. We went to one of my favorite places that isn't to far, Pinecrest Lake and hiked the 4 mile around the lake loop. It was another beautiful day.

That night Joe showed off his skills on the grill before he had to head back to Colorado the next day.

We left early enough on Tuesday to have one final stop, a walk around Old Town Sacramento and the Capital area. We definitely stayed busy and didn't get cheated.

Family, Friends and Destination Races - Part 2

I didn't slow down when I got home from St. Louis. My sister picked me up at the airport and the next day we all drove back to Sacramento to see my niece Brandy who was at a dog show with her dog Ivy. We had a nice visit and went out to eat before we drove home. The next day it was back to Sacramento for the third day in a row to pick up my friend from Colorado who was flying out to run two races with me.

My plan was to try to do a couple more things while he was here since it was his vacation. We wound up going nonstop from Thursday when I picked him up until Tuesday when I dropped him back at the airport. It was a great week jammed full of food and activity.

On the way home from the airport we stopped at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge to do a run so that he could stretch out after the flight. As I said, we had two races and wanted to do at least a little running before race day.

On Friday I planned to take Joe to Pinnacles National Forest. I had visited the east side but wanted to do some hiking on the east side. I had an ulterior motive too. In November of 2012 Joe came out so that we could run a half marathon in Fresno. While he was here we went to Santa Cruz for a one day trip and on the way over we stopped for breakfast at Casa de Fruita for breakfast. For 2 1/2 years we've been talking about the amazing bacon that we had. I knew that we would be driving by there on the way to the park and that we could stop for breakfast. The bacon was as good as we remembered.

The park was even nicer than the last time I went because there were so many more things in bloom. I think Joe was most impressed by the fact that we were hiking along the San Andreas Fault.

When we got home Friday night Donna fixed a really nice pasta dinner for us before we left at 4:15 the next morning for our first race.

Our first race was the 1st Annual Rodeo Beach Rumble in Marin County. It was a beautiful location. I had mentioned to Joe the possibility of our doing it the day before our other race so that he could get two races in while he was here. Initially we talked ourselves out of it but then I received a copy of my AAA magazine and they featured Rodeo Beach in an article about the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I sent copies of the picture from the magazine and others I found on line and we both signed up for the race. We knew it was going to be a challenging race even though it was only 8K but we felt that the location was too beautiful to pass on.

It was a tough race. The first half was all up hill including a couple of sections of stairs. At one point Joe met about 10 runners coming back towards him who had gone the wrong way. He was gracious enough to wait for me there so that I wouldn't go off course and we ran the second half of the race together. It was downhill and fun. I was fortunate enough to win my age group and that's why I got the water bottle and frisbee.

After the race we drove over to the park visitors center to get some more information on the area and then we hiked around the area for a while to loosen up after the race before heading into San Francisco to pick up our race packets for the next day. We spent a couple of hours playing tourist at Fisherman's Wharf and ate at Fishermen's Grotto. The food was good and we had a very personable and fun waiter that added to the experience. He started off asking if we had run the race or just bought the shirts and then entertained us with stories of other running customers he'd had over the years.

When we finished lunch, Joe had just been in California 48 hours and we had already done a lot.

Family, Friends and Destination Races - Part 1

April was a crazy, busy, fun month that seemed to fly by. Every time I thought about sitting down to do a blog post it seemed like it was time to take off and do something else. I guess it really is true what they say that "time flies when you're having fun". More accurate is that "the older you get the faster time seems to go". Either way, I know that April came and went before I wrote a single post.

I did run one final race in March at the Modesto Marathon. I ran the 5k and was fortunate enough to win my age group. It was a nice day and the event was well run. The last time I did this event was in 2009 when I ran the half marathon and it was cold and rainy.

The first picture is a fellow Vietnam veteran who I first met at a race in Turlock. We are fairly close in pace and usually spend some time visiting before, after and sometimes during the race.

My first April race was a new one for me, The Lodi Easter Run. It was a nice event on a pretty course.

My next two races were more special because I was able to run them with family. I flew to St..Louis to run the GO St..Louis Half Marathon with my son in law Tom. This was our third time running the GO. We ran it in 2009 and 20012 so I guess it has become an every three year tradition. Tom and I have run a race together almost every spring and fall since that first one. This is the first time that the course crossed the Mississippi into Illinois. We crossed over on one bridge and returned on another. It was funny but the only ran that we had during the entire race was when we were in Illinois.

Before the race I was excited about getting to run across the Mississippi twice but the picture with the Clydesdale was an unexpected surprise. Stacie took our traditional post race picture.

Between races I ran on the trail system that Tom and Stacie are lucky enough to have right out their back door. The trails are pretty much rolling hills and even though part of them are along main roads there are some great open areas full of flowers, birds and other wildlife.

I also got a chance to catch up with Chase and Haley and their activities. Watching Chase play hockey was unreal. The last time I saw him on ice he was just learning to skate. It's obvious to see how much he enjoys playing the sport his daddy plays.

I also got to do two of my favorite things with Haley and Stacie when we went on a nature hike and when we visited local used book stores. I love how much both Haley and Chase love to read.

The second race I got to run was a 5k with Stacie. It has become tradition for us to race when I visit too and it is always fun.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to attend a Cardinals game with family. It was a fun day at a beautiful stadium. While Tom and Stacie both have their team loyalties elsewhere the whole family is supportive of the St. Louis teams. After all, Chase is a St.. Louis native!

Opening Day! People in St. Louis think it should be a holiday!

This was another great visit with the O'Connell family, my favorite people in the world.